Piper Laurie - Mrs. White
Nancy Allen - Chris Hargensen
Brian DePalma (Director)
Carrie is one of those classic horror movies everybody must see. There is Halloween, Friday the 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, The Shining and so on. I am not much of a horror buff so I am slowly making my way through these classic films. The questions I ask myself after having seen one of these movies is "What separates this movie from the others" and "Why is this considered a classic".
With Carrie both of those questions are easily answered. Carrie has wonderful performances from several cast members. Spacek is un-nerving in the title role. At first (the shower scene) I was asking if she was mentally challenged. That was not the case. She has problems blending in with other students at her high school because of her upbringing. Her mother, Piper Laurie, was just as chilling in her role as the overbearing and abusive religious fanatic. Nancy Allen was a little over the top as Chris, the most popular girl in school / biggest bitch. All these are archetype characters in teen horror flicks. While this cast was good, it was not the factor that set the movie apart.
The plot revolves around Carrie. A shy, awkward girl that is abused both at home and at school. The twist is that she begins to develop the power to movie objects with her mind. She is asked to the Senior Prom by a school hunk as a favor from his girl friend who feels bad for taunting Carrie. When the high school tart pulls a cruel prank on Carrie all hell breaks loose. This plot is specific to this film of course, and the Steven King book that it was based on, but the basic story could be pulled from many different films in the horror genre.
The camerawork is fantastic as you would except from a Brian DePalma film. The most flashy of the set-ups takes place during a dance Carrie and her date share. It does a great job of setting up the mood and foreshadowing the events to come. The signature DePalma split screen is present, but I had to ask why. There didn't really seem to be a need to go split screen, at least early on in the movie. I think it was used a little more organically later in the movie. Even though much of the camerawork is easily recognizable as DePalma's, creative and exotic camerawork is almost a staple of horror movies. Usually they have lower budgets and that forces directors and DP's to come up with inventive and fun ways to movie a camera to create a atmosphere. Evil Dead is a great example of this.
So what sets Carrie apart? The pacing. DePalma is not interested in making a traditional horror movie. He is having a blast making an almost exploitative teen sex romp. He goes as far as to have Karen Allen go down on John Travolta and right in the middle of it she belts out "I hate Carrie White"! I laughed so hard at that moment. The opening of the movie consists largely of a tracking shot through a high school women's shower, where all sorts of fully naked, fully exposed teens are shown. I thought that was a little over the top. The girls PE scene looked like it was filmed for some USA Up All Night movie from the 80's. But all the while there is this building tension between Carrie and her mother. And tension with Carrie and her prom date. And Chris and her mean spirited prank. DePalma milks every bit of anxiety out of the first 2 acts. Then the final 20 minutes is bat shit crazy and one of the most horrific 20 minutes of horror history. Most of this comes from the long build up, then the sudden release of all that tension. Carrie is like a cinematic spring that just busted.
Another thing Carrie has going for it is there is more going on that what is written in the script. I don't think I am stretching it too much when I say that Carrie is a movie about the fears of womanhood as much as it is a horror movie. The scariest thing about most horror films isn't what is seen on screen, it is what we know is off screen but we don't know where. Carrie uses the mysteries of becoming a woman and to invoke the fear of the unknown. It is very effective.
Why is Carrie considered a classic? That is the easier question to answer. It is a classic because of all of the things listed above all in one movie. Other horror films might have great characters or unique camerawork, but not many others have all these things. Carrie is a film that you can tell was realized exactly how the director pictured it in his head. I give Carrie ★★★1/2.
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